Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-13
DAILY HERALD.
ATVO EDGED SWORD.
How the Interstate Com
merce Bill Acts.
INDIGNATION ON ALL SIDES.
Arrangements Made For Direct
Trade With European
Manufacturers.

Bill is a unit against that enactment.
The wholesale dealers in nearly every
branch of trade have laid in stocks OF
staple goods 10 last them about six
months, so they feel safe in ordering
goods from Great Baitain and Europe
that can come by sail or steam without
touching the United States until they
ar i've at San Pedro, and thus escape
the oppressive provisions of the bill.
Wholesale merchants Of large capital can
do this and suffer no hardship, but men
of small capital cannot carry on business
in that way and must 90 out of business.
Duiing the past few months new set.
Element / a. been formed each week in
Sou them California, and plans of water
distribution have been made for every
one, These plans contemplate the lay
ing of hundreds of miles of iron pipe to
carry water under pressure through the
streets and houses Of these new towns.
The increased freight on iron pipe from
the manufactures in Chicago and
st. Louis is four hundred per
cent. This rate amounts to pro.
hibition. and orders for this
staple for Southern California are being
daily countermanded. Members of Con.
press in the Middle and Eastern States
Who have stock in iron factories that de.
pend largely upon the California trade
will see their mills shut up and their
machinery lying idle in consequence of
the effect of the Interstate Commerce
bill. They then may be disposed to
change their vote in the next Congress.
There will be idle cars across the noun
tains in a few weeks. The trade of
Southern California under the operation
of this law is lost to Eastern manufac.
turers.
One of the greatest evils of the bill is
visited upon the rsisin makers. The
new tariff imposes freight of " cents
per box OF 20 pounds. The old rate was
is cents per box. This increase of
freight shuts the Eastern markets to a
million dollars worth of raisins. The
remedy proposed by some is to ship
from San Pedro via the Canadian Pa
cific in bond to Montreal and thence to
New York. There are grave OBJ
jections to this plan. In the
first place freight charge has to
be paid to San Pedro, lighterage
to vessel, a freight and insurance to
British Columbia, freight to Mont.
real, and another from Montreal
to New York. This would entail q
journey of about 5000 miles and cost at
least half the value of the raisins. The
majority of raisin makers are men of
moderate means and have to sell early
to realize and keep the wolf from the
door. They cannot afford to ship by SC
circuitous route. Besides, their Gus.
toners are in Omaha, Denver, Minneap-
oils, Kansas City and other interior
towns, that could not be reached easily
by the Canadian railway. A shipment
by the Isthmus is preferable, or by way
Of Cape Horn, but these routes are long
and expensive. As consequence the
small raisin makers would be obliged to
sell to capitalists at a low rate, and
these purchasers could ship around Cape
Horn, at their own convenience, when
= sufficient cargo should be secured.
The same course would have to be
pursued with wine, wool and brandy.
P0s ot buO ohulC tituC, w ullc OuT CtglZeu5
are charged from 300 to l4OO per cent.
advance on what they purchase in
the east. they are charged from
200 to 600 per cent. on what
they ship to the east. 1t is thus
A TWO EDGED SWORD,
and makes California is the most heavily
taxed State in the Union. California
produces what the Eastern States do
not produce and purchase, what the
Eastern States have and the Pacific
Coast has not. The business is nearly
all 'long haul" The wine, wool,
brandy, ore, raisins, canned goods and
lumber of California by this bill are
shut out from the great markets of the
world. 1t is said by some that the effect
will be to increase manufactures here,
but the raw material to be used in the
manufactures will have to be brought to
California in three cases out of five, un-
der these extortionate rates, and that
will be prohibitory in making nearly all
kinds of agricultural machinery and steel
and iron goods.
ARREST OF STREET RAILWAYS.
The old freight on railway rails from
Chicago used to be so cents per 100.
1t is now, under the new law, $2.45 per
100. Does anybody believe that rail-
ways will be built in city or country at
these extravagant rates on rails? If the
rails are made here they must be made
from steel that has paid high freight by
rail or else from steel brought by sea at
a loss of three to six months.
Messrs .Luitwieler & Co. report that the
new rates come especially heavy on them.
They sell carload of farm wagons per
week, or 900 wagons per annum, on
which the rate under the old tariff was
20 cents per 100, while now it is SO. 35
per 100. At these rates OF freight the
old gave $40 per wagon, and the new
$25 30, the tax being $l7.60 to every
farmer buying lumber wagon in Califor.
mia, under the new law. This tax alone
on the farmers of Los Angeles, who buy
such wagons, amounts to $25,000 per
annum. They favor the suspension of
section 4.
Schoder, Johnston q Co. stated that
the advanced rate on their hardware
was ST. 80 per 100. They want the law
repealed, and favor a meeting of mer.
chants to petition for suspension of
section A.
ALI the Wholesale hardware dealers
are in favor of a suspension of section
and q repeal of the law.
VIM. Lacy, proprietor of the Lacy.
Viereck Hardware Company, is opposed
30 the law, which raises the freight of
his sheet iron and water pipe 500 per
cent. Even cast.iron sash weights are
now charged 600 per cent. advance. Mr..
Lacy thinks if the law is enforced that
; line of steamers will have to be
put on from New York or Liver.
pool to San Pedro. He is in favor |
lf a suspension of section A and repeal |
Of the entire law at the next session of |
Congress. He thinks the law will in.
terfere with the business of Los Angeles
y distributing point.
Mr.. Hance, one of the leading drug.
yists in town, was interviewed and spoke
If the law as ''an abomination" that
y,ouA ha doua aWav with The law |